Tag Archives: IOM

(Canberra, 15 December) In celebration of International Migrants Day and as part of the United Nations’ Global Together, Respect Safety and Dignity for All – campaign, UNIC Canberra together with the International Organization for Migration and UNHCR presented a public screening of the new Australian documentary Constance On the Edge followed by a lively panel discussion.

One family. Two wars. Three countries. What does it take to forge a new life far from home? Filmed over 10 years, Constance on the Edge is an unflinchingly honest portrayal of one refugee family’s resettlement story in Australia. The powerful and emotive film closed to loud applause, with many in the audience visibly moved by the very personal stories that unfolded in the film.

Over 2,000 migrants have died so far this year trying to cross the Mediterranean to reach Europe, confirming this as the deadliest route for migrants in search of a better life. In the same period last year, 1,607 migrants perished. A total of 3,279 lost their lives in 2014. As in 2014, the overwhelming majority died in Continue reading →

Last week on one hot June afternoon in Bangkok, a regional conference on human trafficking took place at the Shangri-La hotel. The setting at first glance seemed nothing out of the ordinary for an event of this sort. A grand conference room in a five star hotel crowded with national delegations, NGOs and international organisations. Continue reading →

IOM has welcomed the commitment by Indonesia and Malaysia to allow thousands of migrants – currently abandoned at sea by smugglers – to come ashore and receive life-saving assistance. IOM Director General William Lacy Swing said today in Geneva: “We commend the governments of Malaysia and Indonesia, in particular, for committing to continue to provide humanitarian assistance to the some 7,000 irregular migrants still at sea.” Continue reading →

Seven recommendations to improve the regional response to climate change have been agreed to following a meeting of Pacific Island nations in Apia, Samoa on 26-27 February. The meeting, gathering eight Pacific countries, was part of a series of Climate Vulnerable Forum workshops currently being convened though to June 2015 in Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Middle East. The Climate Vulnerable Forum regional event for the Pacific, which focused on improving response to climate change for Pacific Small Island Developing States (SIDS), was organized by the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP) with support from the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). Participating Governments included Cook Islands, Fiji, Nauru, Palau, Samoa, Solomon Islands, and Climate Vulnerable Forum members Tuvalu and Vanuatu. Continue reading →

Can the United Nations help to protect people seeking safety abroad if their homes and jobs are destroyed by prolonged drought, rising sea levels or other climate change-related phenomena in the same way as if they were displaced by war or human rights abuses? The short answer, today anyway, is no.

Thousands of Syrians crossed into northern Iraq yesterday (August 15th) in a sudden, massive movement. UNHCR field officers present described waves of people “streaming” over the recently constructed bridge at Peshkhabour. The factors behind this sudden movement are not fully clear to us, and Continue reading →

On 8 August, the Secretary-General hosted a working dinner for Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov to discuss the conflict in Syria, including the escalating humanitarian crisis and the rise in sectarian violence. During the discussion, the Secretary-General further underscored the need to find a political solution to the crisis and to urgently renew momentum for the Continue reading →